Alex Herron

YouTube is to block all United Kingdom access to music videos following a dispute over royalty payments. The move will be a test over how powerful the Google-owned YouTube has become. It will be interesting to see if a competitor is able to step into the vacuum and take the United Kingdom market away from Google.

Just because the music has been blocked, there is no need for them to block the accompanying “video” productions as well. These are often small masterpieces. They also provide important information on trends in society (if you can decode and unpick them).

For instance, the video of Sash - Raindrops (Encore Une Fois) directed by Alex Herron completely captures the ideal of European dance culture although being a highly stylised and mediated interpretation of a night-club (a difficult genre to do well, dance venues being dark and cramped). Everything Alex Herron does seems to be perfect. He is showing us the aspirations of young Europeans.

More on the news story: http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5286GM20090309

More on Alex Herron: http://www.alexherron.com/Websted/W__e__l__c__o__m__e.html

Raindrops (Encore Une Fois) – it it hasn’t been “blocked”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoTKXOkdx2E&NR=1